Chapter 271 Someone stole the grain seeds!
Lai Er, feeling embarrassed by the criticism from everyone, resorted to shameless behavior:
"Who stole the water? Who saw it? The water flowed here on its own, how can you blame me? Besides, this river water belongs to God, not yours. What's wrong with my family using a little?"
"You!" Several hot-blooded young men were furious at his shameless attitude.
Grandpa Zhao pushed through the crowd and walked over. He glanced at the gap in the irrigation ditch, then at Lai Er's nonchalant attitude, and his gray eyebrows furrowed.
He didn't shout reprimand, but said in a deep voice:
“Lai Er, we’re all neighbors, we have to follow the rules. Spring planting and watering have always been done in order, we can’t mess it up. You better hurry up and fix it yourself, and we’ll call it even today.”
When Lai Er saw that Uncle Zhao had spoken, his tone softened a bit, but he still muttered:
"So what if it's a traffic jam... why are you being so aggressive..."
He picked up the hoe reluctantly and symbolically shoveled a few shovelfuls of dirt to block the gap. His perfunctory attitude made it clear to anyone that he didn't take it seriously at all.
Grandpa Zhao sighed, knowing that there was no reasoning with this kind of person, so he could only instruct the person in charge of watching the water to keep a close eye on the area.
Spring plowing continues.
A few days later, most of the fields were plowed and harrowed, and the crucial period for sowing began.
Every household brought out their carefully selected seeds, and women became the main force in the fields.
Xiao Ran's mother, along with Xiao Qi and some other children, were busy working in the vegetable garden with vegetable seeds.
Xiao Yi wasn't idle either, following Xi'er around all day.
They were delivering water, delivering food, plowing the fields, and sowing seeds. They worked non-stop all day.
Xi'er was used to doing these kinds of chores since she was a child, so she didn't find them tiring.
Poor Xiao Yi, he was still young when he fled and had basically never done any farm work.
Having been in Jiangling's place for several months, he has been living a life of luxury, with no worries about food or drink.
He was already feeling overwhelmed by the time the sun was at noon.
In the afternoon, the sky suddenly became overcast, and the wind carried a chill.
An experienced farmer looked at the sky and said, "It looks like it's going to rain. We need to hurry up and finish sowing the remaining seeds. If this rain comes, it will save us the trouble of watering!"
Upon hearing this, everyone quickened their pace.
Just then, a commotion arose at the village entrance.
Lai Er was drunk and staggering toward the field, carrying an empty wine jug in his hand.
As he passed by the wheat field where Sister Zhao and her family were planting, his foot slipped and he fell straight into the field!
"Ouch!"
Lai Er screamed and rolled in the field, crushing a large section of the newly sown furrows.
"Lai Er! What are you doing!"
Zhao's sister-in-law turned pale with anger and rushed forward to check on her.
All that could be seen was the collapsed field ridge, the seeds all mixed into the mud, impossible to find again, and it was ruined.
The surrounding villagers also gathered around, and seeing this scene, they were all outraged.
"Lai Er! Are you blind? Why are you throwing yourself into the fields that people have already planted!"
"They're more trouble than they're worth!"
Lai Er, bleary-eyed and covered in mud, got up. Instead of feeling remorse, he took advantage of his drunken state to act out:
"Roar... What are you roaring about! I... I didn't do it on purpose! This road... this road belongs to everyone, so what if I... I slipped and fell? What are those lousy seeds you planted worth...?"
As he spoke, he waved his arm, nearly hitting the person next to him again.
Unable to bear it any longer, Zhao Shiying stepped forward and grabbed Lai Er's waving wrist with such force that Lai Er instantly sobered up halfway and grimaced in pain.
"Master Zhao... Master Zhao, let... let go..."
Zhao Shiying looked at him coldly: "You've done something wrong and you're still so self-righteous? Either you obediently repair this land and replant the seeds, or I'll take you to the ancestral hall!"
In the village, being taken to the ancestral hall for punishment was an extremely shameful thing, and one would most likely suffer physical pain and even have their food rations confiscated.
Lai Er panicked completely and stopped pretending to be drunk.
"I...I'll get it done...I'll get it done, okay...?"
Zhao Shiying snorted coldly and released her grip.
Lai Er dared not try to be clever again. Under the scornful gazes of the crowd, he sheepishly picked up a hoe and began to clumsily tidy up the land he had damaged.
He had never done such delicate work before, and he made a complete mess of it. In the end, Grandpa Zhao couldn't stand it anymore and directed two villagers to help him, and they managed to get the land sorted out and replant the seeds.
Suddenly, a series of urgent shouts came from the village entrance:
"Oh no! Someone's stealing wheat seeds!"
Everyone was shocked and rushed over.
At the east end of the village, two men dressed in tattered clothes were seen carrying a sack of wheat seeds and running towards the mountains outside the village, followed by several villagers in pursuit.
"Stop! Put down the wheat seeds!" Zhao Shi immediately put down his hoe and gave chase.
Xiao Ran ran over after her.
Seeing the menacing approach, the men who had been stealing wheat seeds ran even faster, carrying their sacks.
However, they were carrying a heavy burden. Zhao Shiying and Xiao Ran were both martial arts practitioners, young, fast, and physically strong.
They quickly caught up with one of the men, and Zhao Shiying reached out to grab the bag of wheat seeds on his shoulder.
With his other hand, he grabbed the man by the back of his collar and twisted his wrist hard. The man cried out "Ouch!" and the bag of wheat seeds in his hand fell to the ground.
"You're courting death! How dare you steal our wheat seeds!"
Xiao Ran quickly caught up with another man and blocked his way.
The man glared at her, his face contorted with rage, and shoved Xiao Ran: "You little brat, how dare you stop your grandpa!"
However, he underestimated Xiao Ran. With a twist of her hand and a kick of her leg, the man fell to the ground howling.
Although two men were caught, two others had sensed the danger early on, dropped their wheat seeds, and disappeared into the mountains.
Uncle Zhao picked up the bag of wheat seeds, and seeing that a lot of wheat seeds had spilled out, he stomped his feet in heartache.
"This is my family's only hope for the second half of the year! These damned robbers!"
Grandpa Zhao also rushed over, and looking at the man on the ground, his brows furrowed deeply:
"These two people look unfamiliar; they're not from any nearby village. They're probably just thugs who've wandered over."
The villagers also gathered around, chattering amongst themselves:
"I recently heard that farm tools and seeds were also stolen in the neighboring village. I'm afraid it was done by the same group of people!"
"These people are despicable! At such a crucial time as spring planting, stealing is cutting off our livelihood!"
Zhao Shiying stood up and said, "Uncle Zhao, I think this group of people came specifically for the spring farming supplies. Why don't we organize the villagers to take turns patrolling, especially at night, to keep a close watch on the warehouses and field ridges? Also, set up a few traps, so if they come again, we can catch them all in one fell swoop."
Grandpa Zhao nodded: "Shiying is right! Let's do it this way! The young and strong men will be divided into two groups, taking turns patrolling day and night. Shiying, you are good at martial arts, so you will be in charge of leading the group."
Zhao Shiying cupped her hands in greeting and replied, "Alright! I promise I won't let them cause any more trouble!"
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